April 7, 2017
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The consensus top-ranked Penn State men's lacrosse team (10-0, 1-0 Big Ten) will look to stay perfect on Saturday afternoon, as the squad is set to take on blue-blood No. 8/6 Maryland (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten) in a marquee matchup at Maryland Stadium, with first faceoff set for 1 p.m. ET.
FOLLOW ALONG
For live coverage of the top-10 showdown, fans can follow along live at BTN2go.com here with a login to their cable subscribe in addition to live coverage on Twitter (@PennStateMLAX) and live stats. The game will air tape delayed on the Big Ten Network at 6 p.m., with Joe Beninati and Mark Dixon on the call.
PSU TOP BUCKEYES IN B1G OPENER
The Nittany Lions opened the Big Ten slate with a five-goal, 9-4, win over No. 5 Ohio State to begin conference play.
- Penn State relied on a strong defensive effort to overtake Ohio State. The Nittany Lions allowed just four goals, marking the first time since the 2014 season to allow four or less goals when the team beat Towson, 8-1, on April 12.
- The Nittany Lions had a season-best 12 caused turnovers in the outing. The mark ranks tied for fifth most in a game during head coach Jeff Tambroni's seven-season tenure with Penn State. It was the first time since March 22, 2014 that the team had done so, in which the squad forced 16 turnovers against Albany, the most in Tambroni's tenure. Sophomore defender Chris Sabia and classmate Kevin Fox both logged multiple caused turnovers with three and two, respectively.
- In the cage, freshman goaltender Colby Kneese had an impressive outing, making 13 stops while allowing a career-low four goals. Kneese turned away 76.5 percent of the shots on goal, marking the best single-game save percentage since three-time All-American Austin Kaut logged a .917 save percentage (11 saves, 1GA) vs. Towson on April 12, 2014.
- On the offensive end, eight players contributed in the scoring column, with seniors Mike Sutton (2g) and Nick Aponte (1g, 2a) contributing multi-point games. Redshirt-senior midfielder Drake Kreinz logged his first goal of the season.
- Penn State's win over Ohio State made the team 1-0 in the Creator's Trophy standings, while dropping Michigan to 0-1. With a win over Michigan on April 30, Penn State would claim it's fourth title in the award's six-season history. Penn State is now 9-2 all-time in Creator's Trophy games.
SABIA, KNEESE LOCK UP B1G HONORS
Penn State claimed three of the four honors in the Big Ten's ninth installment of the 2017 Big Ten weekly awards. Sophomore defender Chris Sabia claimed Defensive Player of the Week, while freshman goalie Colby Kneese was named both Specialist of the Week and Co-Freshman of the Week.
- Sabia earned his recognition following a performance in which he logged three caused turnovers and a pair of groundballs while spearheading the Nittany Lions' defense. The three caused turnovers tie a Penn State record for most caused turnovers in a single Big Ten game and rank tied for third most in a single Big Ten season. Sabia's 24 career caused turnovers lead active Penn State players.
- Kneese logged 13 saves and allowed just four goals against Ohio State while logging four groundballs in the outing. His 13 saves tied for third most in a Big Ten game, while his single-game save percentage (.765) was the best by a Penn State player in a Big Ten game all-time.
- Penn State's 15 total Big Ten weekly honors lead all teams in 2017. Ohio State (seven) has the second most weekly award recipients, followed by Maryland and Rutgers (six).
NITTANY LIONS UNBEATEN STILL
Penn State is in the midst of a historic streak opening the 2017 season.
- Following Penn State's win over Ohio State, the Nittany Lions continue the best start in program history at 10-0. Prior to the 2017 season the best record to begin a season at Penn State was 7-0, achieved by the 1992 team.
- With the win, Penn State remained one of two undefeated squads nationally at 10-0. Hofstra (9-0) is the only other undefeated program nationally.
- With Penn State's victory over Ohio State, the Nittany Lions matched the longest single-season win streak with 10-straight. The win also saw Penn State earn its seventh ever season with double-figure wins.
- With the win two weeks ago against Cleveland State, Penn State went undefeated in the non-conference slate for the first time in program history at a perfect 9-0 mark. Penn State first became a conference member in 2000 when the team joined the ECAC before transitioning to the CAA and eventually the Big Ten.
- With a win against Maryland, Penn State would tie the record for most consecutive wins and break the record for most consecutive wins in a single season with 11 in a row. The win would also mark the third season in program history winning 11 or more games. In Penn State's three NCAA tournament appearance seasons, the Nittany Lions only reached 10-plus wins once.
KNEESE NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
In addition to his pair of Big ten weekly plaudits, freshman goalkeeper Colby Kneese was named Alpha Lacrosse National Player of the Week by Inside Lacrosse for the eighth such award of the season.
- Kneese is the second player this year to earn Alpha Lacrosse National Player of the Week honors, with sophomore attackman Grant Ament earning the award on Feb. 22. The duo are the only two Penn State men's lacrosse players to earn the award.
- Kneese logged 13 saves and allowed just four goals against Ohio State while logging four groundballs in the outing. His 13 saves tied for third most in a Big Ten game, while his single-game save percentage (.765) was the best by a Penn State player in a Big Ten game all-time.
OFFENSE AMONG NATION'S BEST
Two-thirds into the 2017 regular season the Nittany Lion offense continues to be one of the best in the nation statistically.
- Penn State ranks third in the country statistically in shooting percentage as of April 4, firing the ball at a .365 clip. Four players in Grant Ament (.468, 15th), Mac O'Keefe (.402, 500th), Nick Spillane (.378, 68th) and Kevin Hill (.375, 70th) all rank in the top 70 nationally.
- Of the over 70 Division I programs, Penn State finds itself also ranked among the top seven in the country in scoring offense (fifth, 14.70 goals per game), points per game (fourth, 23.20) and assists per game (seventh, 8.50). Penn State leads the Big Ten in scoring offense, points per game and assists per game while ranking second in the big Ten in shooting percentage.
- In addition to its national prominence, Penn State's goals per game, points per game and assists per game figures are all the best during the Jeff Tambroni era to date, with the team on pace to break the Tambroni-era records for single season goals (178) and assists (106).
- Penn State has five offensive players ranked nationally among the top 150 in either points per game, goals per game or assists per game. Ament (4.00 ppg, 2.20 gpg, 1.80 apg) is the lone player to rank among the top 150 in all three categories, ranking 23rd nationally in points per game while coming in the top 50 in both assists per game and goals per game. O'Keefe (3.90 ppg, 3.50 gpg) ranks top 25 in both goals per game and points per game, while Nick Aponte (3.40 ppg, 2.00 apg) and Spillane (2.30 ppg, 0.90 apg) are both top 150 in points per game and assists per game. Ryan Keenan ranks in the top 100 nationally in assists per game averaging 1.10 per contest.
LIONS DOMINANT AT THE FACEOFF "X"
Penn State's success on the offensive end has stemmed from stellar play at the faceoff "x", creating opportunities for the offense to thrive.
- Penn State ranks third in the country in faceoff win percentage (.667) and sixth in groundballs per game (34.30) following nine games. Penn State leads the Big Ten in both faceoff win percentage and groundballs per game.
- Freshman midfielder and faceoff man Gerard Arceri ranks fourth nationally in faceoff percentage (.675) and third in groundballs per game (8.80). Both figures lead the Big Ten.
APONTE, AMENT EYEING CAREER ASSISTS LEADERBOARD
With four games remaining in the regular season, Penn State attackmen Nick Aponte and Grant Ament both look to crack the Penn State leaderboard for career assists.
- Following the Nittany Lions' most recent outing, both Ament and Aponte find themselves within single digits of Penn State's career assists mark. Shane Sturgis (2011-14) holds the No. 10 spot on the leader board with 61 career helpers. Aponte is two assists shy of tying the 10th-place mark, while Ament finds himself nine short.
- Aponte, who enters the Maryland game with 59 career assists, is having the best season of his career statistically sharing the ball with a team-high 20 assists this season. His 19 assist output in 2016 was previously his most in a single season.
- Ament, who has 18 assists to date, entered the season after dishing out the 10th most assists in program history during his freshman campaign, logging 34 last season. (For list of Penn State career assists leaders, go to page five of the Penn State game notes.)
ATTACK LINE AMONG LEADERS IN D1
Penn State's attack unit has been especially impressive so far, with the three attackmen starters of Grant Ament, Nick Aponte and Mac O'Keefe being one of the most potent units in Division I statistically.
- Ament and O'Keefe both rank among the top 25 nationally in points per game. Ament comes in at No. 23, good for second in the Big Ten, while O'Keefe ranks No. 25 in the country and third in the Big Ten. Ament and Aponte are both top-30 in assists per game, with Aponte's 2.00 assist/game average ranking 19th overall nationally and second in the Big Ten.
- The trio of Ament, Aponte and O'Keefe have accounted for 48.2% of Penn State's goals, 49.4% of Penn State's assists and 48.7% of the team's total points.
- As a unit, Penn State's starting attack line has produced the fifth most points among starting attack lines nationally. The Nittany Lion trio ranks tied for second in total goals and sixth in total assists. (For list national attack lines ranked by point production, go to page five of the Penn State game notes.)
B1G IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
As a league, the Big Ten has been off to a hot start and looks to be one of the top conferences in the nation once again. Through the league's non-conference play, with the exception of Maryland's rescheduled game against Albany, as a conference Big Ten teams went a combined 44-8, with its .846 win percentage the top among all Division I programs. (For list of non-conference league win percentages, go to page five of the Penn State game notes.)
O'KEEFE ON PACE TO SET NEW RECORDS
Freshman attackman Mac O'Keefe continues a hot stretch offensively, notching an astounding 35 goals through the first 10 games.
- With four goals against Cleveland State, O'Keefe passed Penn State's single-player high for goals from last season, as senior attackman Nick Aponte logged 30 in 2016.
- After scoring a goal in the Ohio State game, O'Keefe holds the country's ninth longest goal-scoring streak, finding the back of the net in 10 consecutive games. His 35 goals over the span ranks seventh. Brown's Dylan Molloy holds the longest streak with 34 consecutive games in which he's tallied 109 goals.
- O'Keefe currently ranks second among freshman goal scorers during the Jeff Tambroni era, only behind former attackman TJ Sanders' rookie campaign, when he scored 44 in the 2013 season.
- O'Keefe's 34 goals rank third most in a single season in Jeff Tambroni's seven-season tenure at Penn State. The 35-goal mark is five short of cracking the program's top-10 single season leaderboard. (For list of Penn State season goals and Tambroni-era season goals, go to page five of the Penn State game notes.)
APONTE, AMENT AND SUTTON STREAKING
At this point in the 2017 season, senior attackman Nick Aponte holds one of the longest statistical streaks in the country.
- After logging a goal and two assists against Ohio State, Aponte has recorded at least one point in each of his last 42 contests, dating back to April 5, 2014.
- Aponte's streak is good for eighth in the country. Denver senior Connor Cannizarro lead the country with 50 consecutive games registering at least one point, dating back to Apr. 19, 2014.
- Sophomore attackman Grant Ament joined the exclusive group of players nationally with a scoring streak of 20 or more consecutive games following his three assist performance against Penn. The Doylestown, Pennsylvania, native is on a 25-game streak entering the game against Maryland, good for 19th nationally.
- With a two-goal performance against Ohio State, senior Mike Sutton added his name to the list of D1 players with at least one point in 20 consecutive games.
- Of the 27 players in Division I to have tallied a point in 20 consecutive games, only five schools (Penn State, Denver, Duke, Harvard and Air Force) have multiple players on the list. Penn State is the only school to have three players with a 20-plus game point streak. (For list of point-scoring streaks, go to page six of the Penn State game notes.)
SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS
Penn State is set to face its third top-20 opponent of the season and its second in as many weeks on Saturday, as the Nittany Lions take on Maryland (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten). The Terrapins enter Saturday on a two-game win streak after a pair of sure-handed wins over Michigan (15-8) and North Carolina (15-7).
- The Maryland attack is led by the trio of Matt Rambo (19-17-36), Colin Heacock (13-9-22) and Dylan Maltz (17-2-19). Rambo took home Second Team All-America honors last season while Heacock was an honorable mention.
- Maryland's defense is headlines by 2016 First Team All-American short stick defensive midfielder Isaiah Davis-Allen (1-0-1) and third team selection Tim Muller (2-0-2). The duo leads a defense that has limited opponents to 8.56 goals per game, good for 17th nationally despite Maryland's rigorous schedule.
- The Terrapins make the most of their extra man opportunities, with their 55.6 percent man-up success rate rankign second nationally behind only Johns Hopkins. Heacock's five man-up goals rank 10th nationally and lead the Big Ten.
- Last time against the Terrapins: The last time the two sides met Maryland earned a 16-9 win against the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten tournament semifinals. Senior Nick Aponte led the way for Penn State with four points on four goals, but four goals from the Terps' Connor Kelly and three a piece from Rambo and Heacock led Maryland to the championship before earning the league title.
PENN STATE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Penn State rose again this week in the national polls, coming in as a consensus No. 1 selection.
- With the No. 1 ranking in the Maverik Media poll, Penn State earned a consensus No. 1 ranking for the first time in program history.
- With its No.1 ranking in the USILA coaches poll, Penn State is ranked within the top five for the sixth consecutive week. five weeks prior marked the first time since March 10, 2014, that the team had cracked the top five when the team climbed to fifth in the national rankings.
- Penn State has now been ranked in 14 consecutive USILA coaches polls, the last time being unranked being March 21, 2016.
ARCERI ADDED TO TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
In addition to senior Nick Aponte, freshman faceoff specialist Gerard Arceri was named to the Tewaaraton Award watch list on March 16.
- At this point in the season, Arceri continues to be one of the most dominant faceoff men in the Division I game. Arceri has won 155 faceoffs to date, with his 69.2-percent clip ranking second nationally. The rookie also ranks second in Division 1 in groundballs per game, averaging 9.78 per outing.
- Arceri is one of just two freshmen on the watch list so far, with the other being Virginia freshman Dox Aitken, who played club lacrosse with sophomores Grant Ament and Chris Sabia.
APONTE ON TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
After a strong start to the 2017 season, senior attackman Nick Aponte was one of 50 players nationally to be named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List on February 28.
- Aponte currently ranks third on Penn State in points, tallying 31 on 13 goals and 18 assists. His assist figures tie for the best on the team, while his 13 goals rank tied for third.
- Aponte was named to the Watch List for the second straight season. He ranks tied for third on Penn State in points this season after leading the Nittany Lions in goals (30) last season.
- Players not named to the initial lists have several opportunities to play their way into a spot as the season progresses. Watch list additions, if applicable, will be announced on March 16 and April 6.
- On April 27, the field will be narrowed to 25 men's and 25 women's nominees. Nominees can be players on the watch lists or players not on the watch lists, effectively allowing for a third round of additions.
HOGAN CLAIMS SUPER BOWL LI RING
Penn State men's lacrosse finds itself in the headlines in late January following a breakout performance from former Nittany Lion midfield standout and current New England Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan.
- Hogan played four seasons as a midfielder for Penn State, in which he registered 57 goals and 14 assists for 71 career points.
- Hogan sustained an injury three games into his sophomore season (2008) in which he scored a pair of goals. Hogan was granted a medical redshirt, which he chose to use at Monmouth University after graduating from Penn State, where he played wide receiver and defensive back for the Hawks.
- Hogan's breakout performance came during the AFC Championship game in which he pulled in nine catches for 180 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His 180 receiving yards were a franchise postseason single game record. He recorded four catches for 57 yards in the Patriots 34-28 OT win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
- Hogan is the only member of Penn State men's lacrosse to ever play in the NFL or win a Super Bowl. Thirty-nine total Nittany Lions have now claimed 56 Super Bowl rings, with Hogan being the most recent player to do so.
ARCERI, O'KEEFE AND WRIGHT COMPETE WITH TEAM USA
Freshmen Gerard Arceri and Mac O'Keefe and sophomore Tommy Wright represented Team USA over the summer of 2016 as a part of the 27-man U19 roster.
- The Penn State trio earned the gold medals with the team, marking Team USA's eighth U19 world championship. O'Keefe scored a team-high two goals and added an assist. Arceri saw time, but Wright was sidelined with an injury for USA's 13-12 win over Canada.
- Penn State was also represented by associate head coach Peter Toner, who served as an assistant coach for the USA U19 team. Head coach Jeff Tambroni serves as an assistant for the USA national team, while assistant coach Chris Doctor served as an assistant for the Iroquois national team from 2013-14.
- Four players on Penn State's current roster have played for the USA U19 team. Redshirt senior Matt Florence played with the USA U19 team in 2012 en route to the team's seventh world championship with a 10-8 win vs. Canada.
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